Pocket PC Thoughts - Daily News, Views, Rants and Raves

"Windows Mobile 6.1.4 includes the new Internet Explorer Mobile 6, a full-featured browser for Windows Mobile devices that brings the same high-quality browsing experience to the user as desktop browsers. Internet Explorer Mobile 6 supports desktop-quality rendering and has the best compliance support of all versions of Internet Explorer on a Windows Mobile device to date. Several new features and improved support allows users to complete tasks quickly and easily."

Microsoft has updated its Windows Mobile emulator images to 6.1.4. This release includes the new Internet Explorer Mobile 6 - which isn't exactly a stellar upgrade to this infamous browser, but a welcome one nonetheless. For a list of new features, check the Windows Mobile Team Blog.

These images will appeal most to developers. For the end-users reading this, you know the drill: if you want Internet Explorer Mobile 6 on your device, you'll have to wait and hope that your respective OEM or carrier feels ever-so-generous and blesses you with an update.

"The Windows Mobile 6.1 Emulator Images package adds emulator images to Visual Studio 2005 or Visual Studio 2008 that let you test applications for Windows Mobile 6.1. For general information about writing software for Windows Mobile, please see the Windows Mobile Developer Center. The emulator images can also be used as standalone without Visual Studio. They can be accessed through the Start Menu shortcuts."



The Windows Mobile 6.1 localized emulator images are currently available in US English only, which doesn't quite match Microsoft's usual definition of "localized", although you can probably expect that to change over the coming weeks. The Standard (Smartphone) and Professional (Pocket PC) images weigh in at 184.9MB and 272.2MB respectively, and include some new resolutions: 320 x 320, 400 x 240, and 440 x 240 for Standard, and 240 x 400 and 480 x 800 for Professional. Note that the images work standalone, so if you're eager to poke around Windows Mobile 6.1 to see what's new and improved while waiting for your carrier/manufacturer to release an update, this is your ticket. Developers, if you want full integration with Visual Studio, be sure to grab the Windows Mobile 6 SDK prior to installing the images.